Exodus (God Saves)

The Book of the Covenant (Exodus 21-23)

God has come powerfully and majestically down to Mount Sinai and spoke the Ten Commandments to the people. So terrifying was this event that the people of Israel asked Moses to be their mediator (20:19). So the Lord is telling Moses what to tell the people. Unfortunately, many stop reading chapter 20 as the end of the commandments. But Exodus 21-23 is the application of the Ten Commandments. This section of God’s law is called the Book of the Covenant in Exodus 24:7. As we read these laws, we recognize that these were God’s laws to Israel under the first covenant, the Law of Moses, and are not the laws of the new covenant under Christ (cf. Hebrews 8:6-13; Hebrews 10:1-10). But this does not mean that these laws have no meaning for us for in them we see the character and nature of God. As we noted in our last lesson, the law reveals the character and mind of the lawgiver. In these laws we are understanding God and through this can better understand who he is and his will for us.